


Brave

by lady_ataralasse



Series: Ficlets, Plaid, and Pie, OH My! [14]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Coming Out, Cuddles, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Love Wins, Reader Insert, bad day, snuggles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 00:24:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4766597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lady_ataralasse/pseuds/lady_ataralasse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After supporting your best friend coming on social media, you're the one who needs some support at the end of the day, and Sam is happy to be the one who's there for you.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Brave

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ChloeMac86](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChloeMac86/gifts).



> This one goes out to ChloeMac86. Always Keep Fighting.
> 
> Acknowledgements: Thanks as always to Spectaculacular-Sammy for being my sounding board and beta. Her writing is awesome and you should definitely check it out : http://archiveofourown.org/users/spectaculacularsammy/pseuds/spectaculacularsammy

♪ _Brave_ by Sara Bareilles♪

_♪You can be amazing; You can turn a phrase into a weapon or a drug. You can be the outcast or be the backlash of somebody's lack of love or you can start speaking up. Nothing's gonna hurt you the way that words do, when they settle 'neath your skin, kept on the inside and no sunlight, sometimes a shadow wins, but I wonder what would happen if you, say what you wanna say and let the words fall out. Honestly, I wanna see you be brave with what you want to say and let the words fall out. Honestly, I wanna see you be brave. I just wanna see you. I just wanna see you, I wanna see you be brave. Everybody's been there, everybody's been stared down by the enemy. Fallen for the fear and done some disappearing, bow down to the mighty, don't run, just stop holding your tongue. Maybe there's a way out of the cage where you live. Maybe one of these days you can let the light in, show me how big your brave is. Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out. Honestly, I wanna see you be brave with what you want to say and let the words fall out. Honestly, I wanna see you be brave. And since your history of silence won't do you any good, did you think it would? Let your words be anything but empty. Why don't you tell them the truth? Say what you wanna say and let the words fall out. Honestly, I wanna see you be brave with what you want to say and let the words fall out. Honestly, I wanna see you be brave. I just wanna see you be brave♪_

You sat there at your computer watching the whole mess unfold on social media. It was out there now. One more voice heard at last. Of course, the crappy thing about being heard is that the listeners can always yell back. Having the freedom to speak, to express, doesn’t mean people see things your way or agree. Open ears don’t mean open hearts or open minds. In this case, though, it wasn’t your voice. You were the hand holding your friend while she made her voice heard. You weren’t the one being talked at now, some with voices of support, some challenge, some anger, some hate. You were the one keeping her strong, reminding her she wasn’t alone, reminding her there was nothing wrong with her, nothing strange. She just was. She deserved to be heard every bit as much as she deserved love, respect, and acceptance.

Sam knew what today was. He knew you were being there for your friend. He waited until you came back from supporting your friend and gave you a few minutes in your room to settle before he came in to check on you. He could see by the way your eyes were wide tracking the progression of your friend’s coming out and the way your breathing was too deliberate that you were feeling the strain. Your fingers slid over the keys, messaging your friend while she dealt with the fallout with as much grace as possible. You hated that there was fallout, that this was news, that it wasn’t just normal like saying you liked brunettes over blondes or comedies over horror.

You glared at the screen in frustration as Sam slid his hands over your shoulders, soothingly, gently rubbing. “It shouldn’t matter. This shouldn’t be a big deal.”

He kissed your head. “I know. It won’t be some day.” He ran his hands down your arms, lightly, trying to smooth the tension out of you. “Some day because of people like your friend, and people like you, it will be no big deal.”

“I hate watching people give her crap about this. They’re so . . . “

“Bigoted? Cruel? Insensitive? Intolerant?” Sam offered.

“Mean.”

“They are.” He agreed. “How’s she doing?”

“OK I guess. I mean it’s hard. This would be easier if she weren’t in high school, but-“

“But she shouldn’t have to wait until she’s out of public school to be herself.”

“Exactly. She’s not hurting herself. It’s not like being herself is burning down houses or beating people up for fun.”

“You’re right. It’s not. She’s not hurting anyone. The only thing that was hurting anyone was her, hurting herself, by having to hide part of herself. She’s lucky she has you to support her while she goes through this.”

“Thanks.”

He hated the way you sounded so defeated. Sam leaned down to wrap his arms around you. “It’ll get better now. Maybe not for awhile, but it’ll get better. Nothing could get better if she didn’t stand up for herself, if you didn’t stand up with her.”

You didn’t say anything, just sank back into his arms, letting him make you feel sheltered.

“Your friend OK for tonight? Because I think _you_ could use some TLC.”

You studied the screen, reading her last message. “Yeah, she’s heading to bed.”

“She’s probably worn out for the day.” Sam kissed your head again. “So are you. I’ve got some comfort food and a couple of your favorite movies. How about you curl up with me and not worry about it for awhile?”

You nodded you head, signed off, and let Sam pull you up out of your chair into his strong, gentle arms.

He held you from behind a moment, and then Sam turned you around so he could cup your face to look up at him. “You are a wonderful friend; good and strong and brave.” He punctuated each word with a kiss to your face, and finished with a soft press of his lips against yours. He pulled you down to sit on the couch he put in his room, took off your shoes, and wrapped you with blankets. Sam gave you the takeout he’d brought just for you and put on the first DVD. When the food was gone, he pulled you to sit between his legs and held you close, absently running the fingers on his one hand through your hair while you relaxed against him. His other hand alternated between rubbing up and down your arm and gently squeezing you against his warm, broad flannel-covered chest. All the while, he murmured soft words into your ear every five minutes or so, reminding you of all the reasons he adores you. “I’m so proud of you. She’s so lucky to have someone like you in your corner. You’re so amazing.”

The tension eased out of you while Sam saw to your needs. When you fell asleep in his arms, surrounded by flannel, and warmth, and Sam, he picked you up and carefully took you to bed, he eased off most of your clothes and his before he tucked himself and the blankets around you. Tomorrow, you’ll be strong for your friend again, and the day after that, but tonight, Sam took care of you just like he will tomorrow and the night after that. Love wins.


End file.
